Criminal investigations could be hampered without action on issues affecting coroner-directed autopsy examinations. The Royal College of Surgeons' pathology department published a scathing report on services, as plans to end coroner-directed autopsy examinations by Waterford University Hospital staff from January 1 were revealed. If hospitals are permitted to stop providing an autopsy service without ensuring that the workload is accommodated within the region, the capacity to provide this valuable end-of-care medical examination will no longer be readily available. This has “led to delays in some areas of several weeks before an autopsy can be performed”. A standing committee on the provision of coroner-directed autopsy examinations was set up in 2022 by the Department of Justice to examine issues in the area.

Source: Irish Examiner February 12, 2026 12:50 UTC